By Zac Phillips
Vaughan, Ont. – The Centennial Colts women's indoor soccer team surrendered only two goals on their way to a perfect 4-0 day at OCAA Regionals, on Monday.
Winning their games by a combined score of 11-2 the Colts dominated the competition with the contributions of Kai Douglas, Emily Cullen, and Soledad Vasquez.
Though their offensive stars were bright, it was truly a team effort all day from Centennial. With consistent defence and solid goaltending being other crucial factors to their success.
The Colts locked up first place in their pool and a spot at the OCAA Championships on March 7th-8th. They return trying to best their bronze medal performance from a season ago.
Game one at St. Clair Saints:
The Colts defeated the St. Clair Saints in a closely contested 1-0 thriller in the first of four victories.
Douglas scored the lone goal, midway through the first half as the Colts started their day on the right foot, playing good defence and effectively transitioning the ball up the field.
Colts keeper Jordyn Chrons-Slaght made key stops as they held onto a one goal lead. But it was Cullen coming up with a stop of her own standing on the goalline with three minutes remaining, ultimately saving the game.
Overall, Centennial was stingy on defence and disciplined with the lead en route to the close win.
Game two vs Lambton Lions:
Centennial went on to easily handle the Lambton Lions 6-1 in their strongest game of the day.
Their offence broke through with force, scoring three goals in the first half and constantly pinning the Lions in their own end.
Whipping the ball around the Colts never allowed the Lions to gain any momentum or gather much offensive zone time.
Centennial got two tallies from Soledad Vazquez, while Kai Douglas, Vanessa Lima, Kyry Rose, and Elizabeth Maione each added one to the offensive onslaught.
Game three vs George Brown Huskies:
Feeding off the momentum from the morning wins, the Colts were right back to it, besting the George Brown Huskies, 3-0.
Cullen led the charge again for the Colts, playing big minutes and netting a goal.
Centennial also received markers from Alyssia Devellis and another from Lima adding to the balance of their attack with seven different goal scorers on the day.
Exceptional goalkeeping on both sides kept it scoreless for most of the first half, but the Colts were able to break through with just over a minute remaining.
The second half the Colts continued to dominate on the defensive side of the ball, limiting overall chances and shots as they had done the whole tournament.
Game four at Redeemer Royals:
The Colts capped off their unbeaten record with a fourth straight well-rounded win, 3-1 over the Redeemer Royals.
Despite reeling for the first time of the day and giving up the first goal, the Colts battled back scoring three unanswered to complete the comeback.
With time expiring in the first half, Vasquez ripped a penalty kick past the Royals netminder, giving the Colts the lead.
Centennial got their other goals from Douglas and Lima each scoring their third of the day.
Offensively the Colts continued to click while the defence regained from a slow start to the game and they finished off their regionals in a convincing fashion.
With the 4-0 record, the Colts move on to the provincial record most likely as the 1-seed, looking to defend and improve on last year's bronze medal performance.